Poets Online: Line Generator Tools

If you’re a poet, or even if you’re not, the Muse can elude even the best of us at times. If you’ve been following me for any period of time, you know I’m fond of all kinds of generators for inspiration. Although most of my current writing is fiction, my first love was Poetry and I still write poetry from time to time. Today, I felt like putting my poet’s hat on, the one with the jaunty feather, and sharing a cool line generator I found.

Clicking this link, Poets Online, will take you to the Poets Online website and specifically to the First Line Generator. There is a version two of the generator as well, if you’re interested in that. However, clicking the button that says ‘Click here to generate a line’ will result in a line of text being displayed in the box. The line of text is intended to be used as the first line of your poem or as inspiration for your poem.

Here’s the line I got the first time I clicked the button:

For some reason, I imagined astronauts in the 1960s going on their mission to the moon. I”m not sure where that came from, but here’s what I wrote:

I Write Like . . .

Writing is fun. If you don’t think writing is fun, you shouldn’t be doing it. 🙂 This week’s resource is just a fun resource. You can visit the website for I Write Like and paste some text from one of your writing pieces into the box. Then click on Analyze and the tool will analyze your writing and tell you who you write like. I was surprised at the response for me (pictured below)! Here’s the link: I Write Like

This book is a collection of articles from literary agents with tips and hints for the author who wants to land an agent. I found the insight and tips very helpful and plan to put a lot of the information to good use.

If you’re anything like me, you get bored reading ‘scholarly’ or ‘educational’ information. I need to know the details of how to find a good agent, where the agents are looking, and how best to approach an agent but it’s not as exciting as a piece of fiction. This book, with its collection of essays, articles, and interview snippets, allowed me to get the information I needed in bit sized pieces so I was not overwhelmed and did not lose my place.

If you are looking for information on obtaining an agent, this is a good read.

Here’s the official book description from Amazon.com:

Searching for an agent?

Poets & Writers is here to help. A collection of articles edited by the staff of Poets & Writers Magazine, this handy resource includes straightforward advice from professionals in the literary field and additional resources with insider tips.

This practical guide will give you everything you need to understand what agents do, what you can expect from them, and how to find the best agent for you and your work:

Where agents search for new talentTips on how to secure an agentWhat agents look for in the first few pages of a submissionHow to follow up with an agent after you’ve submitted your workThe agent’s role in today’s publishing industryHow to know when the time has come to dissolve a relationship with an agent

If you read it or have read it in the past, let me know what you think of this book in the comments below.

Writing Tool

I’ve been writing some fantasy geared pieces lately and I was at a name block that I could not get over. So, I went to Google, of course and found several tools I found useful. One super cool tool website I found is called Don Jon.

While some of the generators and tools here are specifically geared towards science fiction and fantasy, others could be used for regular fiction purposes or general writing prompts.

I always have a hard time thinking up names for characters that are not boring but also not off-the-wall weird and unpronounceable. These name generators give lots of options to choose from and I can find several useful and pleasing names within seconds.

Pop on over by clicking the Don Jon link above or the screenshot below!